Apple has rolled out version 3.1 of its ebook app iBooks, finally bringing with it support for hundreds of thousands of paid-for books in the Japanese iBookstore.

Works available include fiction, manga and novels, while the updated app also includes enhancements for other Asian-language books.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t Apple’s first foray into the Japanese ebook market, initially unveiling iBooks in Japan in 2010. However, it failed to negotiate deals with Japanese publishers to sell their wares, hence it was restricted to content that was already in the public domain.

Apple has now remedied that, it seems, having inked deals with Japanese publishers, and will go some way towards helping it compete with the likes of Kobo, Amazon and Sony which are already active in the market.

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